In the decade of 2000, in Paraguay, a small neighborhood team he began to talk about himself. The "Club Tacuary" he quickly reached Serie A ... and even played a championship with the giant Olimpia, three times champion of the Libertadores Cup. The president-coach-entrepreneur Francisco Ocampo was the author of this boom. And the construction of the Roberto Bettega Stadium. Indeed, it was the friendship of him with White pen which allowed him to fulfill the dream of a corporate stage.
Once upon a time there was the Tacuary ...
It all began when the lawyer and entrepreneur Francisco Ocampo, who already worked in the world of football, was called up by the Paraguayan Football Federation. The proposal was to help the growth of national teams and improve the research and training of young talents, according to the postulates of "Football-company" that Ocampo defended. Indeed, traveling around Europe, the manager had known and studied the phenomenon of football as a business, at that time unknown in Paraguay.
The work in the Federation was a success. In those years la Albirroja (red and white) entered the elite of important national teams by right: he reached the quarterfinals in the 2010 South Africa World Cup and for years he was at the top of the bitter South American heats. In the Federation, Ocampo's work attracted the attention of the Libertad, club where he stayed for six months. Shortly after, in fact, the Tacuary contracted him, which he directed starting from the 1994-95 season.
The "Roberto Bettega" becomes reality
"The Tacuary was headless", Ocampo tells italiani.it. “They asked me to conduct it according to the football-company model, which was very necessary in Paraguay. The clubs, which had few financial resources, needed to attract entrepreneurs ”. Obviously they were needed business plans attractive ... At that time Horacio Cartes, a multimillionaire entrepreneur who would later become President of the Republic, also entered the world of football ... who bought the Libertad, founded by Italian immigrants, bringing it to glory, like a Guaranì Berlusconi. Ocampo took over the technical direction, the training project and the marketing of the Tacuary players' cards. And finally ... in 2002, Serie A arrived.
And among the turning points that decided the sporting ascent there was also the construction of the club stadium. In Latin America, all professional teams have their own. Tacuary had one from the days of amateurism (before Ocampo), in his neighborhood. With very few seats.
Francisco Ocampos and Roberto Bettega
“I convinced my family and set up a training ground on one of our grounds. Then I put a stand on it .... And when I began to see serious possibilities of playing in Serie A, I excited them ... ". The "Roberto Bettega" stadium was the scene of glorious championship and international matches. The Tacuary played against the Palmeiras, Cobreloa and, in the opening match, against River Plate, in the presence of Roberto Bettega in person.
But how did Ocampo and Bettega meet? “He had a working relationship with the current president of our Federation, Robert Harrison. At that point we already had Paraguayan 'ambassadors' in European teams ", recalls Ocampo. On a tour, the businessman met Bobby goal, now executive in Juventus. Ocampo has a long experience as a player representative. “I've sold about 200,” he confirms.
A friendship
Among these, the "bang" of Roque Santa Cruz to Bayern, Julio Gonzalez Ferreira al Vicenza, Hernán Pérez al Villareal and Brian Montenegro al West Ham.
In fact, Ocampo "met" him in the 80s when Bettega went to play in Toronto Blizzard, a team that played in the highest category of Friendly of the United States. It was the time of the pioneers, in America… Not very young readers will remember the Cosmos of those years, with Pele and Beckembabuer.
Ocampo toured the stadiums in his role as a talent hunter and executive advisor. He was fascinated by Bettega's game, with which he would personally meet years later, as a colleague. Both signed the transfer of Tomás Guzmán to Juve. Which then also played in Ternana, Crotone, Messina and Piacenza. A friendship was born, which, in fact, led Bettega to contribute to the construction of the Tacuary stadium, and Ocampo to baptize it with the name of the “old glory” of Juventus.
The end of the story
The Bettega is now a container depot ... Yes, because after the golden years, the Tacuary - by the way, also Juventus - has gone down to Serie B. And even if just this year it is back in the top category , now the land of the stadium that has seen the exploits has been sold. Ocampo had to leave for health reasons (now happily resolved). And the tale of the “Cinderella” team ended. A beautiful story, however it is. "From humble neighborhood club, Tacuary entered the top 90 of the FIFA rankings", not without pride underlines who was the coach and manager. “And he played in a stadium with identity ", concludes, “Where he was the protagonist. People still talk about it ... "
Main photo: archistadia.it
